California cracking down on auto registration via Cheaters

Updated 7:35 am, Wednesday, July 9, 2014

A California Highway Patrol program that encourages people to rat out drivers who skirt the state's registration requirement is paying off this year with a big uptick in revenue.

The program known by a mouthful of an acronym - Californians Help Eliminate All the Evasive Registration Scofflaws, or Cheaters - has brought in $1,074,594 in 2014, and CHP officials estimate they will hit the $2 million mark by the end of the year.

The program was introduced in 2004 as a way to sniff out drivers who don't pay California's relatively high vehicle fees. Under state law, drivers must register autos within 20 days after moving to the state.

Officials attribute the boost in reports - and cash - to a streamlined website where people can enter a vehicle's license plate, make and model, along with the location where it was spotted. In past years, the agency relied on calls to its offices or in-person reports.

Officials could not provide an exact figure on how much the state loses when drivers fail to register, but CHP spokesman Daniel Hill said it likely exceeds $10 million annually.

"We mostly want to make sure the playing field is level," Hill said. "Drivers who don't register their vehicles in California are using the state's infrastructure and not paying for it."

After receiving reports from citizens, the CHP uses a national database to track down vehicle owners, then asks them to pony up. Hill said many drivers don't know the law, and the reminder prompts them to get in compliance.

Unregistered drivers who intentionally dodge authorities can be fined or even face jail time, depending on the nature and severity of any separate crime associated with the vehicle, Hill said.

In 2012 and 2013, the Cheaters program brought in roughly $1.4 million and $1.6 million, respectively.

The revenue goes through the Department of Motor Vehicles and is funneled into a state account that pays for paving roadways, highway infrastructure, traffic signals and other transportation-related projects.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.